Published: Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 6:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 6:31 p.m.

Florida standout Buck/outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. sat out most of Thursday’s morning practice after sustaining what appeared to be a minor arm injury in Wednesday’s practice.

Fowler did some running Thursday in a non-contact jersey.

“Dante was in orange as a precautionary today,” UF defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin said. “He’s fine. He’s ready to go. He did some of practice, and some we held him out. That was just precautionary.”

The minor injury appears to be the only thing that has slowed Fowler, who has had a dominant camp so far.

“I’ve been proud of Dante about the way he’s practiced. He’s been very consistent with his effort and how hard he’s going, and it’s showing,” Durkin said. “He’s getting better and improving.”

Fowler has been close to unblockable at times and has spent a lot of time in the backfield disrupting plays.

“He’s been relentless,” starting safety Keanu Neal said. “Effort. That’s what he’s bringing. He’s giving a lot of effort, continuing to work on his technique to get better.”

Pass rush coming on

Maybe Fowler’s intensity, especially when it comes to getting after the quarterback, is rubbing off on some of his teammates on the defensive front, because the overall pass rush seems considerably stronger than last season.

“Our guys have done a good job all through camp with that,” Durkin said. “We’re finding some more guys that can win some one-on-ones. Coach (Brad) Lawing is doing a great job with those guys. They’re developing. We’ve got to keep them coming.

“Dante Fowler is doing a great job. Jonathan Bullard’s doing a great job, Alex McCalister is coming on. We’re even using (linebackers) Neiron Ball and Jeremi Powell in pass-rush situations up at defensive end. I think those guys can really get it. We’ll keep it going.

“I’m very pleased with how those guys are coming along. Coach Lawing does a great job developing those guys and you can see they’re getting better and better.”

One versatile DB

The coaches are eager to get true freshman defensive back Duke Dawson back from a shoulder injury and find out where he’ll best fit in the secondary. He’s missed the past several practices.

Among the talented five true freshman defensive backs, the former Dixie County star is probably the most versatile.

“One of the good things about him is he’s very versatile,” Durkin said. “He can do a lot of things. He can cover inside, he can cover outside. He can almost kick in and play safety, too. That’s a valuable guy for us to have. We’ll see how it kind of shakes out (once he gets back).

“That’s still sorting itself out. We still have a scrimmage coming up. Duke is definitely in the mix. We’re counting on him to play and contribute this year.”

Durkin said he doesn’t think missing a few practices will set Dawson back.

"He's been out a couple of days. I think, you know, he'll get back out there and he was doing really well before that,” he said. And Duke also was here for spring, so he had that leg up as well."

Young DTs progressing

Durkin said he’s been pleased with the way the young defensive tackles Joey Ivie, Caleb Brantley and Jay-nard Bostwick have been stepping up in camp.

“Those guys have had their best 13 practices since they’ve been here,” Durkin said. “We were just talking about it the other day with the whole group about how they’ve really come on. They’ve accepted the challenge we put out for them."

Durkin said another young defensive lineman who is really coming on is true freshman end Gerald Willis.

“He can play, he’s good,” Durkin said. “He’ll play and help us. Gerald’s got to keep learning the defense and being in the right spot and all the typical things for a normal freshman. But he’s going to play."

New secondary leader

As the lone returning starter in the secondary, sophomore Vernon Hargreaves III is being counted on to take a leadership role this season, and it appears that is happening.

“Yeah, absolutely. He’s done a great job,” Durkin said. “He has the ear of the team. Guys obviously respect him. These young guys back there, when someone is leading them the right way, that’s a great thing."

Maye finds a comfort zone

Sophomore Marcus Maye seems to be playing with more confidence (and productivity) since moving from safety to the nickel position in the secondary.

“That was something we just tried out here going into camp and he’s looked really good doing it,” Durkin said. “Obviously, he has great coverage ability. That nickel spot is a unique thing. That guy’s got to be able to blitz, cover, man cover, zone cover, do all of those things. Marcus kind of has a feel for it."

It’s a snap for Garcia

Quarterback Jeff Driskel said guard-turned-center Max Garcia has worked out the problems he had with his shotguns snaps in the spring.

“He's had a really good camp,” Driskel said. “During the spring we had some issues early with snaps, but he's never had any issues with blocking. He worked really hard (on shotgun snaps) this summer and it's something he focused on more than anything else. We've only had a handful of bad snaps this camp, so it's something that we're not worried about anymore.

“He's a hard worker and definitely one of the leaders on this offense and this team."

<p>Florida standout Buck/outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. sat out most of Thursday's morning practice after sustaining what appeared to be a minor arm injury in Wednesday's practice.</p><p>Fowler did some running Thursday in a non-contact jersey.</p><p>“Dante was in orange as a precautionary today,” UF defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin said. “He's fine. He's ready to go. He did some of practice, and some we held him out. That was just precautionary.”</p><p>The minor injury appears to be the only thing that has slowed Fowler, who has had a dominant camp so far.</p><p>“I've been proud of Dante about the way he's practiced. He's been very consistent with his effort and how hard he's going, and it's showing,” Durkin said. “He's getting better and improving.”</p><p>Fowler has been close to unblockable at times and has spent a lot of time in the backfield disrupting plays.</p><p>“He's been relentless,” starting safety Keanu Neal said. “Effort. That's what he's bringing. He's giving a lot of effort, continuing to work on his technique to get better.”</p><p><b>Pass rush coming on</b></p><p>Maybe Fowler's intensity, especially when it comes to getting after the quarterback, is rubbing off on some of his teammates on the defensive front, because the overall pass rush seems considerably stronger than last season.</p><p>“Our guys have done a good job all through camp with that,” Durkin said. “We're finding some more guys that can win some one-on-ones. Coach (Brad) Lawing is doing a great job with those guys. They're developing. We've got to keep them coming.</p><p>“Dante Fowler is doing a great job. Jonathan Bullard's doing a great job, Alex McCalister is coming on. We're even using (linebackers) Neiron Ball and Jeremi Powell in pass-rush situations up at defensive end. I think those guys can really get it. We'll keep it going.</p><p>“I'm very pleased with how those guys are coming along. Coach Lawing does a great job developing those guys and you can see they're getting better and better.”</p><p><b>One versatile DB</b></p><p>The coaches are eager to get true freshman defensive back Duke Dawson back from a shoulder injury and find out where he'll best fit in the secondary. He's missed the past several practices.</p><p>Among the talented five true freshman defensive backs, the former Dixie County star is probably the most versatile.</p><p>“One of the good things about him is he's very versatile,” Durkin said. “He can do a lot of things. He can cover inside, he can cover outside. He can almost kick in and play safety, too. That's a valuable guy for us to have. We'll see how it kind of shakes out (once he gets back).</p><p>“That's still sorting itself out. We still have a scrimmage coming up. Duke is definitely in the mix. We're counting on him to play and contribute this year.”</p><p>Durkin said he doesn't think missing a few practices will set Dawson back.</p><p>"He's been out a couple of days. I think, you know, he'll get back out there and he was doing really well before that,” he said. And Duke also was here for spring, so he had that leg up as well."</p><p><b>Young DTs progressing</b></p><p>Durkin said he's been pleased with the way the young defensive tackles Joey Ivie, Caleb Brantley and Jay-nard Bostwick have been stepping up in camp. </p><p>“Those guys have had their best 13 practices since they've been here,” Durkin said. “We were just talking about it the other day with the whole group about how they've really come on. They've accepted the challenge we put out for them."</p><p>Durkin said another young defensive lineman who is really coming on is true freshman end Gerald Willis.</p><p>“He can play, he's good,” Durkin said. “He'll play and help us. Gerald's got to keep learning the defense and being in the right spot and all the typical things for a normal freshman. But he's going to play."</p><p><b>New secondary leader</b></p><p>As the lone returning starter in the secondary, sophomore Vernon Hargreaves III is being counted on to take a leadership role this season, and it appears that is happening.</p><p>“Yeah, absolutely. He's done a great job,” Durkin said. “He has the ear of the team. Guys obviously respect him. These young guys back there, when someone is leading them the right way, that's a great thing."</p><p><b>Maye finds a comfort zone</b></p><p>Sophomore Marcus Maye seems to be playing with more confidence (and productivity) since moving from safety to the nickel position in the secondary.</p><p>“That was something we just tried out here going into camp and he's looked really good doing it,” Durkin said. “Obviously, he has great coverage ability. That nickel spot is a unique thing. That guy's got to be able to blitz, cover, man cover, zone cover, do all of those things. Marcus kind of has a feel for it."</p><p><b>It's a snap for Garcia</b></p><p>Quarterback Jeff Driskel said guard-turned-center Max Garcia has worked out the problems he had with his shotguns snaps in the spring.</p><p>“He's had a really good camp,” Driskel said. “During the spring we had some issues early with snaps, but he's never had any issues with blocking. He worked really hard (on shotgun snaps) this summer and it's something he focused on more than anything else. We've only had a handful of bad snaps this camp, so it's something that we're not worried about anymore.</p><p>“He's a hard worker and definitely one of the leaders on this offense and this team."</p>